Custom "giftery" coming to Daytona's Beach Street

Benedict said she developed the idea for the store when she tried to have a gift delivered to a male friend, and realized that the only local gifts that could be delivered were flowers.

FATIMA HUSSEINBUSINESS WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — Local gift-giving options are set to expand as a custom gift shop will open in downtown Daytona Beach later this month. Yours Truly Custom Giftery, will open at 212 S. Beach St. on March 19. The approximately 1,200 square-foot shop is owned by Stephanie Benedict, former office manager at Daytona Beach-based Benedict Advertising and wife of the ad firm's president, Michael Benedict. The store will specialize in assembling customizable gift baskets and customers can choose from food, wines, soaps, craft beers, candies and toys to add in the baskets, said Benedict. The baskets can then be delivered.Stephanie Benedict said she developed the idea for the store when she tried to have a gift delivered to a male friend, and realized that the only local gifts that could be delivered were flowers. "I couldn't send flowers and anything I wanted delivered locally was going to take days," she said. She also said finding a good gift for a male was a difficult task. And apparently she is not alone. In February, Google data showed that more people were searching for gift ideas for men than women. According to Google, there were five times more searches for "gifts for boyfriend" and "gifts for husband," than "gifts for girlfriend" or "gifts for wife." Benedict said she knows people from all walks of life will find something at Yours Truly to gift their friends and loved ones, and said her shop will also be useful to businesses that want to treat their employees and clients during the holidays. The price of individual gifts to place in the customizable gift baskets range from $4 to $35, according to Benedict. Some of the brands that the store carries, are Thymes, Baudelaire, Musgo Real, Tea Forte and Lake Champlain Chocolates. Benedict, said that as a former office manager, her extreme organizational skills will assist in her in developing and growing Yours Truly. "I'm very organized and I won't allow clutter in my store, I was that way at Benedict Advertising," she said. She also said Yours Truly can do same-day delivery, "If you order by 1 p.m.," Benedict said. The building that houses Yours Truly is owned by Jack White Land Company and was previously an office space for the real estate firm. Benedict said she is looking to hire two employees to work part-time at the shop. Rob Ehrhardt, the county's economic development manager, said, "We are supportive of any new business that opens in Volusia County." He said "This business appears to reflect the entrepreneurial spirit that will be key to growing our economy today and in the future."